A "Freeze"

I was just having a conversation with Kaylie. She was trying to get out of taking naps and was trying to negotiate with me.


A little background...tonight we have our life group. When we first started we made the kids go to their bedrooms around 6:45 and they had to read or play quietly. If they got loud at all they would be prayed with and would have to go to sleep no matter the time. We then had a little 16 month old boy start coming so the first couple of times I let the boys go to the basement to play with him and to "babysit", while Kaylie stayed in her room. I then decided to let Kaylie try to go downstairs, and to my surprise, it has actually worked pretty well.

Today she's had a runny nose and she just sounds congested when she talks, so this morning I had to let her know that she would have to stay in her room tonight because we didn't want Colby, the "baby", to get her cold. She simple said, "Okay." and was fine with it.

Back to our conversation....

Kaylie: "Mom, can I do like Tanner [read during rest time]."

Me: "No, you need to take a nap because we have Bible study tonight."

K: "But remember I have a freeze."

M: I then asked, very confused, "You have a what?!"

K: "You know..." pointing to her nose.

That's when it clicked in my head. I laughed! She laughed!

M: "Oh! You mean you have a cold!"

K: "Yah!"

Our New "Coffee Table" Book

I'm published!

For months now I have been working on this project of putting by blog into book form. At times I was consumed with it. Other times I had to take an extended break from it. It all started when my mother-in-law asked about printing off my blog. I had been thinking about wanting to print a copy off for me so my kids would have something in the future.

I did some research on some options. I found a way to print my blog but that would have taken a ton of ink and paper...not only that, one drop of moisture and it's ruined. I then looked at printing it off and then making color copies. That would have been 50 cents a copy. Way to expensive! I then found this website http://www.blurb.com/. They have different layouts and styles of books, you pick what you want and you create your own book. I personally thought they were well priced especially after looking at the cost of printer ink, copies, etc.

I also added photos throughout the year. So this book is not only by blog from 2008, but it's also now a photo album for us. We are pretty pleased with it, I have found a mistake but it was my fault and not theirs (that's why they tell you to order one first, then order more), but we are proud!

(Sorry about the lack of spaces. I tried and tried to fix it, but couldn't.)

Sow, Water, & Growth Part 2

Here's the second part of "Sow, Water, Growth!"

Just as the kids and I sowed the seeds, we've watered them, and now we anxiously await the growth...and when we DO see it, the excitement comes.

Our family, especially Jeff and I, are experiencing the same thing with our neighbors.

We didn't go door to door and try to evangelize. We didn't always talk about God and the church. God placed us here at the right time, things were said at the right time. We've opened our door in the time of need. (Sowing).

We've been praying since we've moved in. The kids have prayed a lot at night and in the mornings for their friends to come to know Jesus. (Watering)

THREE of our neighbors, in our cul-de-sac, are coming to church! THREE of our neighbors are coming to our small group on Wednesdays at our house!! THREE of our neighbors are being baptized on Sunday!!! (Growth) WHOO HOO GOD!!!!

It is such a privilege and so exciting to see and hear them ask questions, to seek, to GROW! I see the changes in them, even in the little things. It's also exciting to not only know that their lives are changed forever but their children's lives will be different now, and their grandchildren's lives.

I truly am in awe of God! His grace, His beauty, His timing, His plans, His blessings are a true wonder. No one or no thing could have such a intricate plan and have it fall in place so perfectly like our Creator God.

Sow, Water, & Growth!

Lately, it seems like there's been a lot of conversations around me about gardening. My Bible study of Friday mornings is "Return to the Garden" by Kay Arthur...yea...it's not on gardening but the first week we talked about gardens. Then in our small group that meets at our house on Wed. evening, there was another conversation with someone who was planting a vegetable garden.

I was inspired enough that I decided to make it a school project. On Thursday, the 9th, the kids and I headed to the Garden Center at Wal-Mart, we picked up 8 planting pots, 8 different seeds, 4 huge bags of potting soil, and 1 ugly green water container.

We followed the directions and planted the seeds to the best of my understanding what the directions called for. We then watered. Now we are waiting and seeing.


Each kid has two pots to keep an eye on and to water:

Preston = Cherry tomato's and Lettuce

Sowing and watering.



Tanner = Red Bell Peppers and Red Onions

Sowing and watering.


Landon = Cucumbers and Carrots

Sowing and watering.



Kaylie = Watermelon and Tomato's

Sowing and watering.



Our dining room is now a "green-house" for our garden.

We are all excited to see the new growth!!!

Lettuce was the first thing to sprout. We saw growth on Day 5 and this pic is Day 7.

Red Onions on Day 6 we saw new growth in 4 out of 6. We prayed over the other and on Day 7 (today) there was new growth there too!

Late last night I noticed some growth on the carrots, Day 6. If you look real close you can see a few grass like sprouts sticking out of the soil. Carrots were suppose to take 14-21 days to sprout.

We are still anxiously awaiting to see the tomato's, cucumbers, and peppers to show up through the soil. I also ended up planting some radishes because they are ready to harvest so much more quickly. I wanted the kids to feel the satisfaction of helping something grow and then reap, a little quicker then what the other plants will do.

I have a Part 2 coming to "Sow, Water, & Growth".

To Dye an Egg

On Saturday, we dyed Easter eggs. I boiled 4 dozen eggs, I gave each kid 11 and left a few for Jeff and I to do. After 4 eggs Preston was done...he wanted to get back outside to play with his friends and while he was in, I was hearing, "This is boring.", once again, that was because he wanted to be out with his friends.

Landon then decided to dunk his last 4 eggs just enough to give them a tint and then he was back outside to play. Tanner and Kaylie enjoyed the process a little more. They drew pictures (which P & L did too) and they let there eggs get a much brighter color and they even did some half & half eggs. When they were done, it was outside for them too. That left Jeff and I dyeing eggs.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Preston

Tanner

Landon

Kaylie

Kaylie's self portrait.

Jeff intently focusing on his design.

Landon checking out the egg his daddy made for him.

Yep..I made them lay on the table to get this shot.

I've decided that next year I will ask them IF they want to dye eggs BEFORE I purchase everything and go through all the work to get it prepared.

A Good Friday Swim

On Good Friday, we took the kids to the rec center to enjoy some swimming. They received an early Easter gift...some goggles. We had to take them to the pool to try out their new goggles and so they could practice what they've been learning in swim lessons.

Here's a little back ground with the swim lessons. (I'd actually had planned on blogging about it, but never got around to it so here's a quick version.) Preston and Tanner are in the same class, the same age group and same level. Landon is in a class all his own, and Kaylie didn't get in because they were all full. The first lesson I took Landon to, he refused to get in. I was not very happy at all. Jeff came in half way through and he couldn't even get Landon in.

Jeff said he would take him to his next lesson. I guess Landon got in at the very end. I was ready to not take him back and he was going to "lose" his new swim trunks, he wasn't going to get goggles, and he wasn't going to get to swim for "fun". Jeff was willing to give him one more try...he got in and loved it.

Preston practicing his strokes.

Tanner doing his strokes.

Landon and Kaylie under water...which is something they'll do in the bathtub but not in the pool.

Kaylie and Daddy

The boys

Everyone with their new goggles.

For My Mom

Like I said...this is for my mom. She has no personal computer and at work she can't receive pictures, so I was asked to post some pictures of my cousin and her new little one so my mother could see her new great-nephew. You may recognize Chris and Deborah from here.

April 10

7 lb 14 oz

21 1/2 in

Our "Imperfect" Church

I'm sure today was a powerful Sunday at many churches across the world...ours was no exception. Our church has been averaging in the 320's-330's, and this morning we had 553. At the end of each service Jeff gives two separate invitations. The first applies to the message and the changes people might want to make, the second is always the invitation to accept Christ. There were 42 people in two services that raised their hands to accept Christ.

Jeff didn't think he could top last years message when he popped out of a casket, but he's topped it.

Some of you may have seen the "cardboard testimonies"...we did the same basic thing. ours was "I was...I am...". Each service had different people share their stories. I was in the first service and these are the clips from it. I wanted to keep the clips short for downloading/uploading purposes, but this is all who shared during the first service. There were also between 25-30 more who shared during the second service.

Here are some photos from the morning.